Federer takes path to 15th title

1 Jul 2009, 1:56 am   -   Source: Reuters
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Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Robin Soderling of Sweden during their match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, June 29, 2009. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Robin Soderling of Sweden during their match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, June 29, 2009. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Roger Federer's path to a record 15th grand slam title will look reassuringly familiar provided he can tame the Rainmaker in today's quarter-finals.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer's path to a record 15th grand slam title will look reassuringly familiar provided he can tame the Rainmaker in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

Ivo Karlovic, 2.08m tall and the son of a meteorologist, has been raining down aces throughout this tournament, 137 of them in four matches.

Still, the 30-year-old Croat will hold few fears for second seed Federer, who has won eight of their nine matches to date, including two this season and one at Wimbledon back in 2004.

It will be a huge surprise if Federer is not facing Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals as the 22-year-old Serb faces 31-year-old German Tommy Haas in a clash of two generations.

In the other half of the draw, Andy Murray will expect to deal wildcard Juan Carlos Ferrero out of the hand, while the patched-up Lleyton Hewitt will throw everything his body has left at his old rival Andy Roddick.

There is nothing there to worry Federer unduly on grass, not even the Murraymania inspired by the home hope's five-set win under the roof on Monday.

Federer, who won five Wimbledons in a row before losing to Rafa Nadal in that epic final last year, is a class apart on this surface.

His record against Murray is not good -- the Scot leads 6-2 on head-to-head -- and Djokovic has also beaten him twice this year but Federer will be soothed by the memory of beating both of them on his way to the U.S. Open title in 2008.

Federer, 27, had the perfect preparation for Karlovic -- in the quarter-finals of the grand slam for the first time -- with a match against Robin Soderling on Monday.

"It did turn into a bit of a serving contest against Soderling," said Federer, who has dropped just one set so far. "Not many rallies, so maybe not as much fun for the people."

It may be a similar story against Karlovic on Wednesday but the other quarter-final in Federer's half is an intriguing one.

UNDER THE RADAR

Djokovic has slipped under the radar this year, improving steadily with each match but attracting little attention.

He should be the overwhelming favourite against Haas but the German beat him on grass in the Halle final and in seeing off Igor Andreev in straight sets on Monday he gave a reminder of what a danger he can be when free of injury.

Playing classic serve and volley, he looked in great form, though fourth seed Djokovic has the skill and self-belief to see him off.

Like Haas, Ferrero is enjoying an Indian summer to a career recently plagued by injury.

The 29-year-old Spaniard, French Open champion back in 2003, saw off eighth seed Gilles Simon to reach the last eight but it is hard to see him going any further with Murray lying in wait.

UNDER THE ROOF

Murray survived a five-set scare under the new Centre Court roof in the fourth round against Stanislas Wawrinka and was downbeat about the experience -- as befits a player who expects to go a lot further in this tournament.

"I believe I can win Wimbledon," said the Scot. "That's not changed since the first match. But, like I said, I'm gonna have to play great tennis to do it."

Reward for beating Ferrero would be a semi-final against Hewitt, the former world number one and Wimbledon champ in 2002, or Roddick, who has lost twice here in the final to Federer.

It took a superhuman effort from the 28-year-old Hewitt to come from two sets down and beat Radek Stepanek on Monday. Roddick, the American sixth seed and another former world number one, had a much easier straight sets win over Tomas Berdych.

"It doesn't get any easier from here," Roddick said. "I mean, I have loads of respect for Lleyton and what he's been able to accomplish. Everyone knows he's certainly capable of playing very, very, very well on this surface."

He certainly was but the master of grass is now Federer and it will take something special if anyone is to stop him setting a new grand slam record come Sunday.

(Editing by Miles Evans)

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